California Issues Insurance Warning To Millions As Atmospheric River Nears

California regulators are warning homeowners, especially those still recovering from the January wildfires in Los Angeles County, of an incoming atmospheric river which will increase the risk of mudslides in the Golden State.

“With this atmospheric river on the way, communities recovering from wildfires face an even greater risk,” the state’s Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a statement shared by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) on Tuesday, urging homeowners to know their rights with insurers.

“It’s critical for Southern California residents to understand their insurance protections and take the necessary steps to secure the assistance they need,” Lara said. “Those impacted should check their policies and seek help to make sure they receive the coverage they deserve.”

Why It Matters

Many homeowners in Southern California are still recovering from the devastating losses caused by the wildfires which ravaged the region for over a week in January, including the Palisades and Eaton fires. A recent study by the University of California estimates the combined insured losses to be at $75 billion, while total property and capital losses could range between $95 billion and $164 billion.

The fires put the property insurance sector under additional scrutiny, as stories of homeowners who had their policies dropped by insurers only months earlier emerged. For California regulators, who have been blamed for their role in pushing insurers out of the state in recent years, it is especially important now to protect homeowners from the possibility of yet another natural disaster that could cause millions in damages.

What to Know

“Atmospheric rivers are long and relatively narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean and flow through the sky, transporting much of the moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes,” according to PBS News. They normally cause storms characterized by heavy rains, strong winds and flooding.

One such river is expected to drench Southern California early Wednesday, threatening those same areas only recently scorched by devastating wildfires through Thursday.

The California insurance commissioner is reminding homeowners who were affected by the Los Angeles wildfires in January and who could now be hit by the impact of this weather that insurance companies are legally required to cover mudslides and debris flows “if they result from recent fires that have destabilized hillsides.”

Wildfire-burnt landscapes, also known as “burn scars,” leave hillsides vulnerable to flash floods and debris flows, the CDI wrote. The vegetation scorched by the blazes is not there to absorb rainfall, which instead rapidly runs off; the heat caused by wildfires can also create a water-repellent layer of soil which exacerbates this phenomenon.

On Wednesday, California is bracing for a massive Pacific storm that has triggered evacuation warnings and closures in Los Angeles. The areas around the city could see up to an inch of rain in the middle of the week, The New York Times reported.

While homeowners’ and commercial insurance policies typically exclude flood, mudslides, and debris flow, insurers are obliged to cover such losses if they are directly or indirectly caused by a recent wildfire or another peril covered by the applicable insurance policy.

What People Are Saying

Lara said in a statement released on Tuesday: “It’s critical for Southern California residents to understand their insurance protections and take the necessary steps to secure the assistance they need. Those impacted should check their policies and seek help to make sure they receive the coverage they deserve.”

Robbie Munroe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, California, told the LA Times: “It’s unlikely any area is going to be spared from the moderate to heavy rain. We’ll probably have some convective or heavier showers that could be a little more isolated and only hit certain areas.”

Mark Pestrella, director of the Los Angeles County Public Works and chief engineer of the Los Angeles County Flood Control District, said in a statement shared by the LA Times: “We’re feeling comfortable about the amount of debris that we’ve taken and our capacity to capture debris flows based on the rainfall prediction.”

What’s Next

Evacuation warnings and orders have already been issued by the Los Angeles Fire Department for residents in the areas ravaged by the Palisades, Sunset, and Hurst fires, as well as people living in two dozen neighborhoods in Malibu.

“The warnings and orders are in recent burn areas which are especially susceptible to heavy rain,” the LAFD said.